Northwest Scene.

Flexsteel Comfort Seating In Arlington Heights Is Softer Than It Sounds

December 13, 1998|By Dean Geroulis. Special to the Tribune.

Norty Hiton would be the first to admit that Flexsteel is not a household name.

"There are plenty of people who (have) never heard of it," Hiton said. "We represent a great factory with a lot of tradition. People who do know about us know that. We have to let the rest of the world know what we do."

Which is why Flexsteel is taking a new approach to selling its furniture, an approach that includes more aggressive marketing and partnerships with a string of independently owned signature stores across the country.

Hiton's Flexsteel Comfort Seating Store in Arlington Heights is the sixth such store in the U.S. and the first in the Chicago area.

The name Flexsteel might be a bit confusing, Hiton said. It is more likely to conjure up images of office furniture or workout equipment than "warm and fuzzy home furnishing," Hiton said.

Yet the Dubuque, Iowa-based company has been manufacturing upholstered furniture for 105 years, Hiton said. One of the unique features of Flexsteel furniture, Hiton said, is its patented blue steel seat springs originally developed for Pullman cars. These springs carry a lifetime guarantee.

Flexsteel furniture has been marketed through what Hiton describes as "Ma and Pa stores," but those types of businesses are fading from the American landscape. Flexsteel furniture is also sold through department stores.

Owned by Infinity Design Interiors L.L.C., a company founded by Hiton and his son Rick, the Arlington Heights store bears the unique "footprint" developed by Grid International for all of the new generation of Flexsteel stores. That footprint guides customers along a path past various vignettes of furnished rooms.

The staff at the Flexsteel store offers assistance in design and fabric selection.

Hiton, who spent 35 years working for furniture giant Ethan Allen, believes that the reputation for quality that has carried Flexsteel for more than a century is what will make this new line of stores a success.

"It's very unusual to find a furniture company that's been around for 105 years," Hiton said. "The fact that they've done that leads you to believe they're going to be around another 105 years."